The Mid-BrainGetting inside your head

As we learned in our last lesson, the brain is responsible for all your movements, coordination, balance, thoughts, memories, language, speech and hearing, among other things. Also, the brain is separated into different lobes to help us determine which part of the brain controls which of the above.

Although we covered a fair amount of detail in the last lesson, it only scratches the cognitive surface! Within the brain is a full labyrinth of channels, pathways and components, which are primarily responsible for life.

The video below goes over the brain-stem in basic detail, sorry for the lower quality! Oops, I said there was no mirroring in the video, but there is!!! Woohoo!

Here is an unedited picture of the middle of the brain, including the brain stem.

Brain-stem Injuries

As you've learned by now, the brain-stem is responsible for a lot of extremely important things, such as; heart and breathing rate, body temperature, balance and many other things essential to life.

If we damage or have an issue with any of these parts, then the actions associated with that part of the brain become impaired or function on a lesser capacity. In other words, damage the Medulla and your heart rate could be off or, perhaps, if severe enough, death may occur!

Wondering how you might damage this part of your brain?

One way could be a severe whiplash event where the head whips fiercely in any direction. This is why race car drivers wear neck protection! Also, there could be a hit to that particular area causing bruising or a laceration (a cut). So, when you're out and about doing whatever it is that you do, think safety and the potential consequences to your actions, they could be extremely damaging!

Accidents aside, what else may we have difficulty with?

The next several lessons will go over various components of mental health, explaining each. Along the way, we will discover which part of the brain is responsible, along with a lot of other pertinent information relating to each item.